9. BEAN-BRIERAY

Riley Tree

RALPH BEAN and ELIZABETH BRIERAY (9)

 

RALPH BEAN. There is some doubt about the father of Sarah Bean, who was born in Tadcaster in 1754. He could be either of two John Beans. The older was the son of Ralph and Elizabeth Bean; the younger one was their grandson.

Ralph was born in the latter part of the 17^th century, in the reign of Charles II.
Baptism. Tadcaster.
1673 Nov 10  Ralph ye son of William Bean of Tadcaster.

Ralph was the youngest of at seven children, though two had died before he was born. Five of the seven were boys, and Ralph himself was to have four sons and one daughter.

Tadcaster is on the River Wharfe, and was then the lowest bridging point.

It was known for its breweries, and Ralph became a maltster, extracting malt from barley, as his grandfather of the same name was before him.

River Wharfe, Tadcaster[1]

 In the late 18^th century, the Tadcaster baptism and burial registers give unusually detailed information. From the burial of their son Ralph, in 1780, we learn the following: “Ralph Bean, son of Ralph Bean of Tadcaster, Malster, and Elizabeth, aged 80. He died on 3 Apr and was buried in the churchyard on 5 Apr. He died of old age.”

 

ELIZABETH BRIERAY. The most likely baptism for Elizabeth is in the village of Ryther on the River Wharfe, 5 miles downstream from Tadcaster.
Baptism. Ryther.
1666 Aug 12  Elizabeth daughter of John Breray.

No burial or other marriage has been found for this Elizabeth, but she was seven years older than Ralph, so we should view this with some caution.  On the other hand, Brieray (and other versions of the spelling) is an unusual name. The occurrences in the Tadcaster area at this time are confined to the villages of Ryther and Kirkby Wharfe.

 Marriage. Tadcaster.
1695 Nov 30   Ralph Bean and Elizabeth Brieray

 We know of six children, five sons and a daughter.

Baptisms. Tadcaster.
1697 Sep 20  William
1700 Mar 26  Jonathan
We do not have a baptism for their son Ralph, but we know from his marriage licence and his burial that he was born in 1699-1702. The age he gives at his marriage is more likely to be accurate than the one that others gave for him at his death, making a later date more plausible than an earlier one.
1705 Aug 18  Elizabeth
1707/8  Feb 1  Robert. Robert was buried on 10 Mar, aged one month.
1713 Jan 8  John son of Ralph Bean of Tadcaster.
“Of Tadcaster” means that the family were living in the town, and not in an outlying part of the parish.

In 1714, Queen Anne, the last of the Stuart monarchs, was succeeded by the Hanoverian King George, ushering in the Georgian era. He was not Queen Anne’s nearest relation, but he was a Protestant, and the English government ruled out a Catholic monarch from the Stuart dynasty.

Both Ralph and Elizabeth lived on into the reign of George II.

Burials. Tadcaster.
1738 Oct 22  Elizabeth ye wife of Ralph Bean senr of this town.
1747 Jun 23  Ralph Bean senr.

Another register calls him Ralph Bean of Tadcaster.

 

[1] Tadcaster Historical Society.